Barrier guard

ABSTRACT

A barrier guard attachable about an operating station of a machine has a front wall portion with a slot defined therein and dual side wall portions connected with, and disposed at an angle to, the front portion. The width of the slot is slightly larger than the width of the portion of the article desired to be inserted through the guard and into the location of operation, but the width of the slot is substantially less than the length of a first path of direct access from the slot to the location of operation of the station such that the fingers of the operator when extended through the slot will not reach the location of operation of the station. The dual side wall portions define a channel having first and second openings at either end thereof, each opening being of a width which is greater than the final width of the inserted article portion, but which is substantially less than the length of a second path of direct access through the channel and to the location of operation such that the fingers of the operator when extended through the channel will not reach the location of operation of the station. The channel opening nearer the location of operation is disposed substantially above the channel opening remote from the location of operation in order to provide a gravity assist to the removal of the finished article from the location of operation along the second direct access path defined by the channel through the guard.

United States Patent Sebastian et al.

[ Nov. 6, 1973 BARRIER GUARD [75] Inventors: Ronald Joseph Sebastian,

Harrisburg; David Albert Walker, Steelton, both of Pa.

[73] Assignee: AMP Incorporated, Harrisburg, Pa.

[22] Filed: Sept. 28, 1972 21 App]. No.:293,210

[52] U.S. Cl. 74/612 [51] Int. Cl. Fl6p 1/02 [58] Field of Search74/612, 608; 83/398, 83/478, 544

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,447,987 3 1923 Johnson74/612 3,019,751 2/l962 Fichcra 74/612 X Primary Examiner-Charles J.Myhre Assistant Examiner-F. D. Shoemaker Attorney-William J. Keating etal.

57 ABSTRACT A barrier guard attachable about an operating station ofamachine has a front wall portion with a slot defined therein and dualside wall portions: connected with, and disposed at an angle to, thefront portion. The width of the slot is slightly larger than the widthof the portion of the article desired to be inserted through the guardand into the location of operation, but the width of the slot issubstantially less than the length of a first path of direct access fromthe slot to the location of operation of the station such that thefingers of the operator when extended through the slot will not reachthe location of operation of the station. The dual side wall portionsdefine a channel having first and second openings at either end thereof,each opening being of a width which is greater than the final width ofthe inserted article portion, but which is substantially less than thelength of a second path of direct access through the channel and to thelocation of operation such that the fingers of the operator whenextended through the channel will not reach the location of operation ofthe station. The channel opening nearer the location of operation isdisposed substantially above the channel opening remote from thelocation of operation in order to provide a gravity assist to theremoval of the finished article from the location of operation along thesecond direct access path defined by the channel through the guard.

4 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures BARRIER GUARD BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.Field of theinvention The present invention broadly relates to a barrierguard attachable about an operating station of a ma chine, and moreparticularly is concerned with a barrier guard which prevents access bythe fingers of an operator to the location of operation of the stationwhile, at the same time, allows insertion of at least a portion of anarticle through the guard and into the location of operation and removalof a finished article from the location of operation and through theguard without orientation of the finished article prior to its removal.

2. Description of the Prior Art Barrierfgurads are generally known inthe prior art, for example, the guards described and illustrated in U.S.Pat. Nos. Re. 25,423, and 3,541,654. These guards are of the generaltype having a slot defined in a front wall portion which faces theoperating station, through which slot an article is inserted into thelocation of operation, and, after the operation is performed, from whichslot the article is withdrawn.

In the case where the final width of the article portion insertedthrough the guard, as a result of the operation performed thereon, isgreater than the original width of the article, the width of the slotmust be substantially greater than the final width of the articleportion if the article portion is to be readily withdrawn through theslot. However, the greater the width of the slot, the greater thelikelihood that the finger of the operator can be extended through theslot in the guard and into the location of operation of the station.Therefore, it is desirable to provide a slot in the guard having a widthas small as possible in order to minimize or prevent ac cesstherethrough by the operators finger and also to provide the shortestpossible path of direct access from the slot to the location ofoperation since, in the case the latter, the closer to the location ofoperation the operator can hold the article the more quickly the operator will be able to properly align the inserted article portion with thelocation of operation of the station. Thus, if the width of the slot,defined in the guards found in the prior art, is only slightly greaterthan the width of the article inserted therethrough, and if the finalwidth of the inserted article portion is substantially greater than theoriginal width of the inserted article portion, the final width of thearticle portion must be initially oriented in alignment with the lengthwise direction of the slot prior to removal of the article portion backthrough the slot.

The necessity of orientation of the finished article with the guard slotgreatly diminishes the finished article production rates which anoperator can achieve when the prior art guards are used in conjunctionwith production machines OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Thebarrier guard of the present invention eliminates the need fororientation of the finished article prior to its removal through theguard without significantly affecting the rate of finished articleproduction which would be achieved in the absence of the barrier guardabout the operating station of the machine.

An object of the invention, therefore, is to provide a barrier guardwhich prevents access by the fingers of an operator to the location ofoperation of an operating station while, at the same time, theinterposition of such guard between the fingers of the operator and theoperating station would not substantially affect the finished articleproduction rate capability of the operator.

Another object of the invention is to provide a barrier guard which hasno moving parts which would in itself create a safety hazard for theoperator.

A further object of the invention is to provide a barrier guard to beutilized about the crimping station of a terminal applicator machinewherein oftentimes the terminal which is crimped onto the end of a leadwire has a final width that is substantially greater than the width (ordiameter) of the lead wire.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a barrier guardwhich has an exit path defined therethrough in such manner to provide agravity assist to the removal of a finished article from the location ofoperation of the station through the guard.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a barrier guardwherein the exit path is nonlinear which thereby minimizes the volume ofempty space between the guard and the station, and, therefore, minimizethe quantity of materials required to construct the guard.

These and other objects of the invention are achieved in a preferredembodiment thereof wherein a barrier guard has a front wall portion witha slot defined therein and dual side wall portions connected with, anddisposed at an angle to, the front wall portion. The width of the slotis slightly larger than the width of the portion of the article desiredto be inserted through the guard and into the location of operation, butthe width of the slot is substantially less than the length of a firstpath of direct access from the slot to the location of op eration of thestation such that the fingers of the operator when extended through theslot will not reach the location of operation of the station. The dualside wall portions define a channel having first and second openings ateither end thereof, each opening being of a width which is greater thanthe final width of the inserted article portion, but which issubstantially less than the length of a second path of direct accessthrough the channel and to the location of operation such that thefingers of the operator when extended through the channel will notreach. the location of operation of the station. The channel openingnearer the location of operation is disposed substantially above thechannel opening remote from the location of operation in order toprovide a gravity assist to the removal of the finished article from thelocation of operation along the second direct access path defined by thechannel through the guard.

.Other objects and attainments of the present invention will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the followingdetailed description when taken in' conjunction with the drawings inwhich there is shown and described an illustrative embodiment of theinvention; it is to be understood, however, that this embodiment is notintended to be exhaustive nor limiting of the invention but is given forpurpose of illustration in order that others skilled in the art mayfully understand the invention and the principles thereof and the mannerof applying it in practical use so that they may modify it in variousforms, each as may be best suited to the conditions of a particular use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the course of the followingdetailed description reference will be frequently made to the attacheddrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a terminal applicator machine havingattached thereto about its operating station a barrier guardincorporating the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the barrier guard and also, inconjunction with the guard, showing in schematic form the operatingstation of the terminal applicator machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the barrier guardtaken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2 and also, in conjunction with the guard,showing in schematic form the operating station of the terminalapplicator machine of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary front view of the barrier guard ofFIG. 2 and also, in conjunction with the guard, showing in schematicform the operating station of the terminal applicator machine of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now ingreater detail to the various figures of the drawings wherein likereference characters refer to like parts, there is shown at in FIG. 1 aterminal applicator machine having an operating station 12 with abarrier guard 14 forming the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention attached to the machine 10 about the station 12. For adetailed description of a similar terminal applicator machine referencemay be made to US. Pat. No. 3,184,950.

The operating station 12 (see also FIGS. 3 and 4) includes a verticallyreciprocable crimping die 16 and a fixed anvil 18 which supports theleading terminal 20 of a strip 22 of interconnected terminals 20 at thetime an end of a lead wire 24 is held in alignment with the leadingterminal 20 by an operator and the crimping die 16 is actuated to crimpthe terminal 20 to the lead wire 24 in a known manner.

The barrier guard 14 (see also FIG. 2) may be molded from a transparentplastic which allows an unobstructed view of the station 12 by theoperator and is attachable about the operating station 12 of the machine10 by any suitable conventional means, such as by screws 26 which fitthrough holes 28 in the guard 14.

The barrier guard 14 has a front wall portion 30 with a slot 32 definedtherein. The slot 32 has an upper vertically-directed portion 34 whichmerges into a middle horizontally-directed portion 36 which extends tothe right of the portion 34 and, in turn, merges with lowervertically-directed portion 38 which opens at the lower edge 40 near thelower right hand corner 42 of the front wall portion 30. The uppervertically-directed portion 34 and middle horizontally-directed portion36 together define a desired article-inserting position 44 along theslot 32 at which position 44 the longitudinal axis of the lead wire 24may be substantially aligned with the location of operation 46 of theoperating station 12 and the terminal 20 positioned at that location 46prior to the performance of the crimping operation at the location ofoperation 46 of the station 12.

The width W, of the slot 32 at any position therealong is substantiallyless than the length L, of a first path I, of direct access from theslot 32 to the location of operation 46 of the station 12 such that thefingers of the operator (not shown) may only be extended through theslot 32, at any position therealong, and toward the location ofoperation 46 through a distance along the first direct access path P,which is substantially less than the length L, of the first directaccess path P,. Furthermore, the width W, of the slot 32, at any suchposition therealong, is sufficiently greater than the original width Wof the lead wire 24 which facilitates rapid and accurate insertion ofthe wire 24 through the slot 32 at the desired article-insertingposition 44 of the slot 32 and into the location of operation 46 of thestation 12. However, the width W of the slot 32 is less than the finalwidth W, of the terminal 20 crimped to the end of the wire 24 which, ifnot totally preventing removal of the wire 24 from the location ofoperation 46 through the slot 32 at approximately the desired position44 of the slot 32 where the wire 24 was inserted, would, at a minimum,impede rapid removal of the crimped wire 24 from the location ofoperation 46 through the slot 32 without initially orienting the finalwidth of the terminal 20 crimped on the wire 24 with the lengthwisedirection of the slot 32 prior to removal of the wire 24 through theslot 32 in such case where the lengthwise direction of the slot 32 isgreater than the final width W, of the terminal 20.

The barrier guard 14 also has dual side wall portions 48,50 which areconnected with, and disposed at an angle to, the front wall portion 30.The dual side wall portions 48, 50 form a channel 52 having a firstopening 54 defined at the outer and lower end of the channel S2. Thewidth W, of the first opening 54 is greater than the final width W, ofthe terminal 20 crimped on the wire 24. The channel 52 also has a secondopening 56 defined at the inner and upper end of the channel 52. Thewidth W of the second opening 56 is at least approximately equal to thatwidth W, of the first opening 54. The channel 52 establishes a secondpath P of direct access from the first opening 54 via the second opening56 to the location of operation 46 of the station 12. The length L ofthe second direct access path P is greater than the length L, of thefirst direct access path P,. The width W, of the first opening 54 issubstantially less then the length L of the second direct access path Psuch that the fingers of the operator may only be extended through thefirst opening 54 and toward the location of operation 46 via the secondopening 56 through a distance along the second direct access path Pwhich is substantially less than the length L of the second directaccess path P Also, the length of theterminal 20 as measured along thelongitudinal axis of the wire 24 is less than the respective lengths ofthe first and second channel openings 54, 56.

The following Table I suggests the appropriate width W, of the slot 32for a given length L, of the first access path P, and the appropriatewidth W, of the first channel opening 54 for a given length L for thesecond direct access path P TABLE I Maximum width of slot (or opening inguard) (in inches) 6% t0 7% "A; 7% to l2% 1% 12% to 15% 1% 15% to 17% 1/5! 17% to 31% 2% Over 31% 6 *Based on Table 0-10 published on Saturday,May 29, 197] on page 10,646 of the Federal Register, Vol, 36, No. 105.

The slot 32 defined in the front wall portion 30 extends along a thirdpath at least from the articleinserting position 44 to a positionadjacent to the first channel opening 54, the third path following themiddle horizontally-directed portion 36 and the lowervertically-directed portion 38 of the slot 32. The third path parallelsthe second direct access path P defined by the channel 52. Therefore itis apparent that the second direct access path P is nonlinear whichthereby minimizes the volume of empty space between the barrier guardand the station, and, therefore, minimizes the quantity of materialsrequired to construct the guard.

Once the crimping operation has beenperformed at the location ofoperation 46 of the station 12, the wire 24 and its attached terminalmay be removed from the location of operation 46 by moving the wirealong the third path defined by the slot 32 which movement thereofconcurrently moves the crimped terminal 20, without any initialorientation thereof, along the sec ond direct access path P from thelocation of opera tion 46 via the second channel opening 56 to the firstchannel opening 54 and out of the barrier guard 14 which therebyachieves rapid and unobstructed re moval of the crimped terminal 20through the guard 14 from the location of operation 46 of the station12. Furthermore, when the terminal 20 attached to the wire 24 has beenmoved into the second opening 56 the operator may release the wire 24and the force of gravity will insure that the wire falls through thefirst opening 54 since the first channel opening 54 is disposedsubstantially below the second channel opening 56.

Although the barrier guard comprising the preferred embodiment of thepresent invention has been described above as applied to a terminalapplicator machine, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art thatthe invention is generally applicable with other types of machines whichin the performance of an operation on an article cause a part of thearticle to have a final width which is substantially greater than theoriginal width of the article.

Further, it is thought that the invention and many of its attendantadvantages will be understood from the foregoing description and it willbe apparent that various changes may be made in the form, constructionand arrangement of the parts and that changes may be made in the form,construction and arrangement of the barrier guard described withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing allof its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merelya preferred embodiment thereof.

What is claimed is:

l. A barrier guard attachable about an operating station of a machinefor preventing access by the fingers of an operator to the location ofoperation of said station while, at the same time, allowing insertion ofat least a portion of an article through said guard and into saidlocation of operation and removal of a finished article from saidlocation of operation and through said guard with a part of saidfinished article, as a result of the operation performed on said articleportion at said station, being ofa final width substantially greaterthan the original width of said article, said guard comprising: a frontwall portion having a slot defined therein, through which slot, at adesired article-inserting position thereof, the longitudinal axis ofsaid article may be substantially aligned with said location ofoperation, the width of said slot, at any position therealong, beingsubstantially less than the length of a first path of direct access fromsaid slot to said location of operation such that the fingers of theoperator may only be extended through said slot, at any such positiontherealong, and toward said location of operation through a distancealong said first direct access path which is substantially less thansaid length of said first direct access path, said width of said slot,at any such position therealong, being greater than said original widthof said article which facilitates rapid and accurate insertion of saidarticle portion through said slot at said desired article-insertingposition of said slot and into said location of operation, said width ofsaid slot being less than said final width of said part of said finishedarticle which, if not totally preventing removal of said finishedarticle from said location of operation through said slot atapproximately said desired article-inserting position of said slot,would, at a minimum, impede rapid removal of said finished article fromsaid location of operation through said slot without initially orientingsaid final width of said finished article part with the length-wisedirection of said slot prior to removal of said finished article throughsaid slot in the case where said length of said slot is greater thansaid final width of said finished article part; and dual side wallportions connected with, and disposed at an angle to, said front wallportion, said dual side wall portions forming a channel having a firstopening defined at an outer end thereof, the width of said first openingbeing greater than said final width of said finished article part, saidchannel also having a second opening defined at an inner end thereof,the width of said second opening being at least approximately equal tothat of said first opening, said channel establishing a second path ofdirect access from said first opening via said second opening to saidlocation of operation, the length of said second direct access pathbeing greater than said length of said first direct access path fromsaid slot at approximately said desired article-inserting positionthereof to said location of operation, said width of said first openingbeing substantially less than said length of said second direct accesspath from said first opening via said second opening to said location ofoperation such that the fingers of the operator may only be extendedthrough said first opening and toward said location of operation viasaid second opening through a distance along said second direct accesspath which is substantially less than said length of said second directaccess path, the length of said finished article part as measured alongthe longitudinal axis of said article being less than the respectivelengths of said first and second channel openings,

said slot defined in said front wall portion extending along a thirdpath at least from said articleinserting position to a position adjacentto said first channel opening, said third path paralleling said seconddirect access path from said first channel opening via said secondchannel opening to said location of operation,

whereby said finished article may be removed from said location ofoperation by moving said finished article along said third path definedby said slot which movement thereof concurrently moves said finishedarticle part, without any initial orientation thereof, along said seconddirect access path from said location of operation via second channelopening to said first channel opening to thereby achieve rapid andunobstructed removal of said finished article through said barrier guardfrom said location of operation of said station.

2. A barrier guard as claimed in claim 1 wherein said second path fromsaid location of operation via said second channel opening to said firstchannel opening is nonlinear which thereby minimizes the volume of emptyspace between said barrier guard and said station, and, therefore,minimizes the quantity of materials required to construct said guard.

3. A barrier guard as claimed in claim 1 wherein said first channelopening is disposed substantially below said second channel opening inorder to provide a gravity assist to the removal of said finishedarticle from said location of operation of said station through saidguard.

4. A barrier guard as claimed in claim 2 wherein said first channelopening is disposed substantially below said second channel opening inorder to provide a gravity assist to the removal of said finishedarticle from said location of operation of said station through saidguard.

1. A barrier guard attachable about an operating station of a machinefor preventing access by the fingers of an operator to the location ofoperation of said station while, at the same time, allowing insertion ofat least a portion of an article through said guard and into saidlocation of operation and removal of a finished article from saidlocation of operation and through said guard with a part of saidfinished article, as a result of the operation performed on said articleportion at said station, being of a final width substantially greaterthan the original width of said article, said guard comprising: a frontwall portion having a slot defined therein, through which slot, at adesired article-inserting position thereof, the longitudinal axis ofsaid article may be substantially aligned with said location ofoperation, the width of said slot, at any position therealong, beingsubstantially less than the length of a first path of direct access fromsaid slot to said location of operation such that the fingers of theopErator may only be extended through said slot, at any such positiontherealong, and toward said location of operation through a distancealong said first direct access path which is substantially less thansaid length of said first direct access path, said width of said slot,at any such position therealong, being greater than said original widthof said article which facilitates rapid and accurate insertion of saidarticle portion through said slot at said desired article-insertingposition of said slot and into said location of operation, said width ofsaid slot being less than said final width of said part of said finishedarticle which, if not totally preventing removal of said finishedarticle from said location of operation through said slot atapproximately said desired article-inserting position of said slot,would, at a minimum, impede rapid removal of said finished article fromsaid location of operation through said slot without initially orientingsaid final width of said finished article part with the length-wisedirection of said slot prior to removal of said finished article throughsaid slot in the case where said length of said slot is greater thansaid final width of said finished article part; and dual side wallportions connected with, and disposed at an angle to, said front wallportion, said dual side wall portions forming a channel having a firstopening defined at an outer end thereof, the width of said first openingbeing greater than said final width of said finished article part, saidchannel also having a second opening defined at an inner end thereof,the width of said second opening being at least approximately equal tothat of said first opening, said channel establishing a second path ofdirect access from said first opening via said second opening to saidlocation of operation, the length of said second direct access pathbeing greater than said length of said first direct access path fromsaid slot at approximately said desired article-inserting positionthereof to said location of operation, said width of said first openingbeing substantially less than said length of said second direct accesspath from said first opening via said second opening to said location ofoperation such that the fingers of the operator may only be extendedthrough said first opening and toward said location of operation viasaid second opening through a distance along said second direct accesspath which is substantially less than said length of said second directaccess path, the length of said finished article part as measured alongthe longitudinal axis of said article being less than the respectivelengths of said first and second channel openings, said slot defined insaid front wall portion extending along a third path at least from saidarticle-inserting position to a position adjacent to said first channelopening, said third path paralleling said second direct access path fromsaid first channel opening via said second channel opening to saidlocation of operation, whereby said finished article may be removed fromsaid location of operation by moving said finished article along saidthird path defined by said slot which movement thereof concurrentlymoves said finished article part, without any initial orientationthereof, along said second direct access path from said location ofoperation via second channel opening to said first channel opening tothereby achieve rapid and unobstructed removal of said finished articlethrough said barrier guard from said location of operation of saidstation.
 2. A barrier guard as claimed in claim 1 wherein said secondpath from said location of operation via said second channel opening tosaid first channel opening is nonlinear which thereby minimizes thevolume of empty space between said barrier guard and said station, and,therefore, minimizes the quantity of materials required to constructsaid guard.
 3. A barrier guard as claimed in claim 1 wherein said firstchannel opening is disposed substaNtially below said second channelopening in order to provide a gravity assist to the removal of saidfinished article from said location of operation of said station throughsaid guard.
 4. A barrier guard as claimed in claim 2 wherein said firstchannel opening is disposed substantially below said second channelopening in order to provide a gravity assist to the removal of saidfinished article from said location of operation of said station throughsaid guard.